ANNUAL REPORT 2019

First Presbyterian Church 131 Big Valley Street

Boone, North Carolina 28607

Our Mission Statement:

“A family of faith Called to Grow in the love of Christ,

Share that Good News, and Serve the world.”

2019 Annual Report

First Presbyterian Church

131 Big Valley Street

Boone, North Carolina 28607

828-264-3906

Table of Contents

A Year in Review…………………………………..……….……………………..2

Staff-Leadership-Membership………………..……………………….…...3

Chris�an Educa�on………..…….………………..……….………….....…4-7

Church Life…………………………………………..………………………...…8-9

Communica�ons…….……………………………..…………………….…….10

Congrega�onal Care……………………………..…………………………...11

Deacons’ Fund……….……………………………..……………………………12

Endowment…..……………………………………..………………………..….12

Finance/Stewardship..…………………………..……………………….....13

Missions……………………………………………………………………..…14-15

Property/Personnel………………………………..……………………….....16

Worship…………………………………………....……………….………...17-18

Beyond 2020 Vision Plan…………………………………………………….19

A Year in Review - from our pastor

Dear First Presbyterian Family,

Vision. For 80 years First Presbyterian Church of Boone, NC has shared Christ’s love through worship, study, service, evangelism, and mission. Together, we affirm that all of who we are, all of what we do, and all of what we seek to do in the present, builds upon the foundation that has been laid in Christ Jesus for us. We give thanks to the faithful who blazed the trail of discipleship living into the vision God set before them to estab-lish First Presbyterian Church 80 years ago. As beneficiaries of their vi-sion, we now carry the “torch” that has been passed on to us to continue God’s vision “Beyond 2020” together!

God is certainly at work among us! As we look back at 2019, our Beyond 2020 vision process culmi-nated in a five-year plan that will implement 17 visions and goals that will guide us together to live into God’s reign in the world. Over 115 people gathered in small groups for eight-weeks as we began this process, and our Coordinating Team worked diligently, not only to lead and guide us into the vi-sions that we will now implement, but also to discern, develop, and direct us by a new mission state-ment that will guide us as a church family for years to come. Our new mission statement declares that we are: A family of faith Called to Grow in the love of Christ, Share that good news, and Serve the World. Simply put, we are: Called to Grow, Share, and Serve. We now move forward with clarity of God’s vision together!

As we continue to reflect, 2019 was a year of transition in our staffing. After 23 years of faithful ser-vice, Sylvia Rippy retired from her role as Assistant Choir Director and Hand Bell Director. We cele-brated her ministry as Dr. Bill Harbinson composed and commissioned an anthem in her honor enti-tled, Make a Joyful Noise, that was played in celebration of her service on Stewardship Dedication Sunday. In her departure, we hired Lisa Combs as our Hand Bell Director, and Brandon Winbush as our new Pianist. Erin Fowler was hired as our first full-time Director of Children’s Ministry. Robert Bannan, our Director of Youth and College Ministry, took a new call, and we hired Mary Beth Walker as our Interim Director. Our First Morning Out Director, Shelley Dewey, transitioned after seven faithful years of service, and we hired Rebecca Pitts as our new Director and Amber Kanoy as our As-sistant Director. And to top it off, Walter and Sandra Coles, our janitorial staff for many years, retired and we hired Danny and Shelly Sturgill to help us. God is good! In the midst of so much transition, God continues to provide for the ongoing work of his ministry; his vision.

Vision. It’s a vision that allowed Skylar Moss and Alex Barr, two of our youth, to preach for the first time on Youth Sunday. It’s a vision that led to a Community Outreach Picnic in September on the church lawn inviting new folks to be a part of our family of faith. It’s a vision that led to a combined Good Friday service with Rumple Memorial Presbyterian for years to come. It’s a vision that led to the youth Christmas play, Believe!, and to a generous family purchasing the new Glory to God hym-nals for our congregation. God’s vision continues to lead our pastoral care, our fellowship, and our spiritual growth. God’s vision welcomed 32 new members into our flock this year. May we all give thanks to God for the vision that has led us for 80 years of ministry together, and for God’s continued vision that leads us into 2020 and beyond!

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jeff

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Elders Jeff Brandon

Neville Chaney Becca Eggers-Gryder

Mike Hall Vicki Kruger

Todd Liljestrand Katherine Logan

John Newell Betsy Payne

Rob Robertson Donna Warmuth

Jeff Williams

Deacons Susan Corey

Sarah Gordon Margaret Headrick

Jennifer Hendrix Kevin Hutelmyer

Julie LaGrone Christine Leist Dan McAulay

Arthur Merschat Ben Miller Guy Rippy

Amy Robertson

New Members

David Balduf Jeanne Balduf Alex Barr Josh Bolinger Sam Brandon Anders Coffey Amber Cooper Ross Cooper Barb Edwards Steve Edwards Banks Gordon

Cherie Hampton Carter Hiatt Jadyn Kadyk David Kesler Sandy Kesler Sullivan McAulay Skylar Moss Chris Nault Lloyd Nault Sharon Nault Susan O’Bryant

Bap sms

Anders Coffey Jadyn Kadyk William Sterrett

Deaths

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Don King Juanita King Jack Schurman

Weddings

Kathy McKethan & John Lehman Lane Weiss & Todd Moody

Staff

Rev. Jeff Smith, Pastor Jennifer Jones, Office Administrator

Erin Fowler, Director of Children’s Ministry Steve Marks, Pastoral Associate

Mary Beth Walker, Interim Director of Youth & College Ministry

Tammi Zaidel, Community Connections Coordinator Lisa Combs, Chancel Choir & Handbell Director

Cindy Clawson, First Light Director

Brandon Winbush, Pianist Rebecca Pitts, First Morning Out Director

Madison Ogden Brandie Peede Maggie Sabillo Will Sabillo Nathaniel Wallace Connie Walter Riley Warmuth Gail Wartner Kurt Wartner Madison Welch

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Moderator: Donna Warmuth, Elder

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Children’s Ministry-2019: Our Children’s Ministry Planning Team helped our Interim Children’s Direc-tor, Kara Stroud, provide monthly activities for our children during the first half of the year. The children created hearts for Haiti to raise money for a Haitian school. They enjoyed an Easter Egg Hunt and partici-pated in a Cinco De Mayo Event. Many volunteers participated in “Athens-Paul’s Dangerous Journey” Vacation Bible School, July 15-July 18. The evening event which included music, crafts, dinner, and Bi-ble stories drew 100 participants.

We also made important changes in curriculum. Sunday school classes started “The Gospel Project” cur-riculum this winter, including a new class for toddlers. Reach Wednesday programming introduced scrip-ture: Erin Fowler became the full-time Children’s Director in late July and continued to help provide monthly activities for our children. Our preschoolers created Christmas cards for the elderly during Gath-ering to Serve in August. The children enjoyed fellowship and bounce houses during Community Out-reach Day in September and a hike at Bass Lake in October. In November, some of our children created tie-dye shirts, enjoyed pizza, and heard testimonies at an Operation Christmas Child shoebox event led by Sharon Carlton. December brought our annual caroling experience. Children, their families, and members of the choir traveled to sing at Appalachian Brian Estates and Deerfield Assisted Living. During Reach Wednesdays, the children studied the purpose of our church’s mission work in Chiapas, Mexico. John Newell demonstrated water filtration devices and shared photos from his important time there. The chil-dren sang Spanish songs with the help of Vicki Krueger and sent a video of their rendition of “This is the Day” to our Mexico mission team. Throughout the year, Sunday School classes sang worship songs and then divided into pre-k, 1st-3rd grade, and 4th-5th grade classes to study the Bible and learn Bible verses. The children actively studied Bible heroes and lessons using the Newspring Curriculum. The nursery class was served with a Bible story and music, too. Four, five, and six year olds met during Children’s Church and studied the Bible through games and play using the themes of the Armor of God, Back to School, and the Great Outdoors.

Erin Fowler, Children’s Director

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Sunday Night Youth Discipleship: This past year of youth discipleship has been one of transitions, growth, and settling into a new routine. We sadly had to say goodbye to our former Youth Director, Robert Bannan, in the spring as he answered a call to ministry in his hometown in South Carolina. I was blessed by the oppor-tunity to step up from the role of volunteer to interim director of the program in May. We purchased a new youth curriculum entitled “LIVE!”, which we have been using successfully during Sunday Night Discipleship. The curriculum is very engaging, as it is conversation-based instead of lecture style. The youth have many opportunities for personal exploration of the scriptures and many springboards for questions, conversations, critical thinking, and spiritual growth. In the fall we welcomed 6 new youth members to the 6th grade, had 7 youth transition into high school, and welcomed 3 new members from other churches. The youth program has also been hugely blessed to welcome an intern, Will Sabillo, and 3 additional volunteers: Maggie Sabillo, Brandie Peede, and Chris Nault. These folks are showing so much love and dedication to our youth group! Because of their involvement, we are able to facilitate small group study/discussion time on Sunday Nights and the youth have even more opportunities to make connections and receive mentorship from caring adults. Youth Discipleship is currently taking place on Sunday nights. Discipleship/study time is from 4:30pm-5:30pm, followed by dinner and fellowship until 7:00pm.

Sunday School: Our middle school class has been lovingly led by Heather Langdon this year. Her passion for this age group is undeniable in her presence and dedication! There have also been several other church members who have graciously contributed to the leadership of this class and helped bring a rich variety of in-fluence to the group. Shelley Dewey, Melissa Bryan, Angela Smith, Anna Lehman, and Dottie Sykes are among these wonderful teachers. The high school class has been fortunate to experience a variety of leaders as well. This class is now currently being led by Pete Barr, Gideon Goff, and Dan McAulay. Additional teachers include Dottie Sykes, Dan and Anel Gryder, and Heather Langdon. I have also had the opportunity to lead both classes on occasion as well! We are currently using the Teen Sunday School curriculum that we also utilized in 2018, as it provides multiple years of lessons.

College Ministry: Our college ministry gained attendance with the start of school in the fall. Currently the college Sunday school class is combined with our Young Professionals class, which is providing a larger group and a rich pool of perspectives for discussions. We have been enjoying fellowship and study time over breakfast during the Sunday school hour each week. The group has engaged in some serious questions about their faith journeys and we have developed a plan for digging deep into scheduled Bible studies.

Day Trips and Summer Devotions: This summer was packed with weekly activities for the youth! Weekly “Lunch and Devotional” gatherings were held at various restaurants around town in which the youth would share a meal, do a devotional, and talk about life. Several day short trips were attended, including “Ice Cream and Devotional”, a hike to Beacon Heights overlook on the parkway, a walk on the greenway trail, and a trip to the Blowing Rock pool. We also enjoyed a couple longer days of fellowship with trips to Carowinds Amusement Park and Wet ‘n Wild Water Park.

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Middle School Passport Conference: In June the middle school youth traveled to Danville, VA to attend the Passport Conference. This week-long retreat focused on finding our strength in Christ and learning to be bold in life by accessing God’s wise counsel. The week included worship time, small group Bible study and prayer development, recreation and fellowship time, and daily mission work.

High School CROSS Mission Trip: This fall the high school youth travelled to Charlotte, NC and partnered with Myers Park Presbyterian Church for a long weekend of mission work. During this time we explored the process of sharing God’s love with our neighbors through humble presence and service to them. Each mission was followed by a debriefing and prayer session to reflect on our day and how God could be detected in the experience.

Reach Wednesday: This fall’s semester was dedicated to the production of a Christmas play entitled “Believe!”. Directed and made possible by the amazing Trimella Chaney, this play was a huge suc-cess on multiple levels. Most importantly, everyone participating in the program developed trust, friendship, and connections with one another while working to spread the Good News about the true meaning of Christmas. I truly feel that our group has bonded and become more closely knit through this experience! The play was well attended and a fun family event for all those involved!

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The Adult Ministry program enjoyed another busy and productive year in 2019. Our efforts are facili-tated by staff and several active planning teams. Our programming is coordinated through the Chris-tian Education Committee which provides guidance and support. We have primarily focused our at-tention on Sunday School activities and Wednesday night programs. We also helped to logistically support a number of study groups that meet at the church and at off-site locations.

Sunday School classes continued throughout the year. We are blessed to host eight different classes each week, offering content from traditional biblical studies, to current topics on various social con-cerns. Our newest class, developed this past year, is a combination of our Young Professionals and our seasonal college students. All of our classes utilize a variety of teaching media and styles in an effort to offer something meaningful to everyone. Many of our class facilitators serve on our Adult Ministry Planning Team, helping to assure that we are offering a variety of programming framed by our Reformed theology.

Our Reach Wednesday programming continued with both a spring and fall series. We offered a varie-ty of classes and special programs for our various age groups as well as meals for each night. Our Spring session included classes on the Minor Prophets Amos and Hosea, the Mayberry Bible Study, a women’s Bible study, and offerings for our music and knitting ministries. Our Fall session included classes on the Proverbs, Small Group Ministry training, a men’s Bible study, Church Officer Train-ing, and offerings for our music and knitting ministries. Planning for our spring and fall programming is supported by a dedicated group of folks who make up our Reach Wednesday Planning Team.

Additionally in 2019, we supported two women’s Bible study groups here at the church. Our Small Group Ministry Planning Team met regularly throughout the year and will be facilitating new pro-gramming as part of our Beyond 2020 initiative. We also continued to explore new opportunities to grow our faith within the Christian Education program and are excited to see all that God has in store for us in the coming year!

Steve Marks, Adult Ministry Director

Respectfully Submitted by Donna Warmuth

Christian Education Moderator

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Moderator: Katherine Logan, Elder

Mission: Involve members and friends of the congregation in the life of the church by creating opportu-nities, guided by the Holy Spirit, to grow and to share our faith, hope, and love in relationship with oth-ers. Highlights from 2019: 1. Sunday Morning Coffee Ministry. Marty Meredith continues to coordinate this ministry, and she has been successful in getting a crew of volunteers to prepare coffee on Sunday mornings. More volunteers have been trained and there is now a list of regulars. This is an important ministry because it is often the time when visitors start making new friends over coffee and fellowship. Marty has a message board so that volunteers can sign up for coffee preparation and bring treats. This seems to be running smoothly. 2. Reach Wednesday (formerly Wednesday Night Live) meal time planning. An ASU Pi Kappa Alpha worked to set-up and clean-up, and we are grateful for their help. 3. In April, sponsored an Easter Sunday brunch before a combined worship. 4. In July, sponsored the annual Church Family Picnic, held at Valle Crucis Park. 5. Sponsored the Gathering to Serve day, where members and attendees spent a half day working at various locations around Boone and in the church in support of local missions/ministries. So much was accomplished on this workday! 6. Organized two covered dish lunches held on combined service and new member joining Sun-days in May and October. Each event was well-attended. 7. In September, organized a covered dish lunch after a combined service and before a Congregational meeting in the sanctuary. 8. Organized the annual Thanksgiving meal the Sunday before Thanksgiving. About 200 people attend-ed, including about 40 from the Hospitality House (HH). Vicki Krueger drove the church bus and shut-tled back and forth between both HH properties. There were additional guests who drove to the church; they heard about the dinner throughout the HH community. The multi-purpose room was packed. All the existing tables were used and some Sunday school tables were also used. It was a successful dinner and we were happy to have our guests join us. Each meal that is hosted by Church Life requires much planning and work before and after the meals. There are many volunteers who make each lunch/dinner potluck run efficiently. The efforts of these individuals are much appreciated!

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9. Further discussion for a church picnic shelter/pavilion. This will be part of the overall “Beyond 2020” plan with support from several budget sources for building this structure. There has also been discussion about getting the work done by skilled church members who would lead the construction, with volunteers to help. This could be set up as a “barn-raising.”

Goals for 2020: 1. Pray about opportunities we can provide to help people grow in their faith with our church family.

2. Pray about living out our new mission statement created in 2019.

3. Pray and plan for a picnic shelter/pavilion to be built in the church back lot.

4. Pray about and determine interest in an FPC retreat, likely in mid to late-spring.

5. Continue to support Reach Wednesday meal time. We continue to pray for this as it takes many hours of planning and many volunteers each week.

6. Support our successful continuation of the coffee ministry.

7. Continue to sponsor our well-loved annual and regular events, such as the new member pot luck lunches, the summer Church Family Picnic, and the Thanksgiving meal.

8. Continue with the Gathering to Serve day of service.

~Submitted by Katherine Logan

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Moderator: Todd Liljestrand The mission of the Communications Team is to share the Good News of what God is doing in and through First Presbyterian Church, both within our church family and to our wider community. We are blessed to be part of a very active congregation, and the people who serve our church on our Communications Team spent 2019 spreading the news about everything our church does. The committee, in particular Sue Newell, updates and maintains multiple communications avenues in order to share information with as many people as possible, in whatever form is most effective for them. How many different forms of communication do we use? Let us count the ways…. Website: The firstpresboone.org website was developed and updated throughout the year. Did you notice the redesign of the homepage to highlight our new mission statement?

Newsletter: Emailed weekly, the newsletter's layout was adjusted to improve readability on phones and tablets. The MailChimp service that we use continues to let us know what percentage of folks open this cornucopia of information (generally 40%-50%). App: Unlike ASU, the local educational behemoth, our church app gives easy access to Jeff's sermons as well as information on upcoming church events. This year the team pushed ShareFaith (the app maker) to improve updateability. Still pushing. Facebook: We continued to announce events and update folks using the social network. Brochures/Posters: Multiple color brochures and posters were produced throughout the year, in-cluding "fridge-clippable" mini-calendars for Lent and Advent activities, advertisements for the youth Christmas play, and more. Newspaper: Announcements were included in the Watauga Democrat to advertise special events including Easter and Christmas services. Miscellany: Members of our team were also instrumental in the production of various special com-munications, including the logo for small group planning, the resolution for Sylvia Rippy's retire-ment, the development of the mission statement, the Vision 2020 report to the congregation, the smoke-free campus signage and the new directional signage in the parking lot. Looking ahead, 2020 will see our team continue to keep up with communicating our congregation's rich faith life. In addition, we will strive to meet the challenge given to us for this year by the con-gregation through the Vision 2020 process: to better communicate opportunities for service and mission. It is truly a joy to serve the Lord, and it is our team's mission to help our congregation share that joy. Amen!

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Moderator: Vicki Krueger, Elder

Mission statement for Congregational Care Committee: The entire congregation will be given lov-ing and compassionate care when needed, according to the season of life or needs which arise from birth, illness, hospitalization, or death within a family.

The following have been the main concerns of our committee this year:

Thinking & praying for you cards are being sent to 5 members/families each month by our commit-tee. Cards are brought to meetings and committee members sign cards with love for the recipient.

Birthday cards are being sent to all the members of the church by Julia Pedigo.

Care Receivers Ministry - Pat Weaver coordinates this ministry for the church's homebound, both in and out-of-town members. Several members of our congregation participate in this ministry by regular-ly sending cards, making phone calls, and visiting individuals in their homes or care facilities. They provide a source of comfort and love while deepening relationships with care receivers and their fami-lies.

Comfort Kitchen - This group is dedicated to the ministry of preparing homemade, individually pack-aged and free of cost meals here at First Presbyterian. Led by ladies of the committee, they have kept the church freezer stocked with healthy, tasty meals to be distributed by church members to anyone in need of a comforting meal.

Communion for the Homebound - Communion is served to homebound members of our congrega-tion on a quarterly basis: February, May, August, and November. Shelley Dewey has been coordinating this ministry during the last 3 years. In 2018, this group has served communion to those in our congre-gation who are experiencing a short or long-term disability or illness and are unable to attend church. Deacons are asked if there is a need and communion is taken by a couple of members of the committee.

Congregational Life – Tammi Pace-Zaidel reports to our group about new members, visitors, and con-gregational care needs. We had 32 new members join the church in 2019. There are many outreach events throughout the year to encourage folks to get involved in the life of the church. Some examples are our Community Outreach Day, Gathering to Serve, Reach Wednesday programs, and many church wide fellowship events as well as our first Chili Cookoff in January. The Deacons are an integral part of our Congregational Care team. Each church member is assigned a Deacon to help care for their spir-itual needs and provide loving support when care concerns arise. REACH Wednesdays in Spring and Fall were successful

Knarthex Knitters - 13 lapghans/shawls were made and prayed over for those in need during the 2019 year. Prayer shawls or lapghans were given to adult, youth, as well as babies. Each shawl/lapghan was prayed over and was sent with a prayer and message signed by committee members.

Prayer Ministry – Prayer request cards are available in pews in the Sanctuary, as well as in the Gath-ering Space beside the prayer box. Our prayer warrior ministry includes volunteers who sign up for a two-month period to receive prayer requests via telephone. Two members volunteer per two-month pe-riod. All requests are kept confidential.

The Congregational Care Committee meets monthly (usually the third Sunday of the month at 12:30 p.m. after 11:00 worship) and has diligently endeavored to achieve all that has been put before us.

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Summary for 2019

Respectfully summitted by Ben Miller

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Dental expenses Rent payment Food cards/Angel Tree Emergency room expense Travel expenses Memorial contribution

Food cost Bus ticket Medical equipment Restaurant cards

Total expenses: $13,738.16

3,616.40 1,774.00 1,773.50 1,413.62 1,100.00 1,000.00

544.00 475.00 435.00 349.14 300.00 300.00

Telephone bill Plane ticket Oral surgeon bill Electric bill WalMart card Help for neighbor

250.00 187.50 120.00 100.00

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Moderator: Betsy Payne

First Presbyterian Church Final 2019 Financials Year 2019 was another strong year fiscally for our congregation. Expected giving exceeded budget by $22,576 and the year ended with a $33,645 surplus. By the commitment of our membership under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, many activities have been funded to continue God’s work. In addition to the aforementioned giving, the congregation contributed to multiple love offerings. Some of these gifts are referenced by the Deacons’ Fund and Missions sections of this report as well as disas-ter relief, staff gifts and others. Income Amount Percent Pledges $591,681 84.39% Member Giving 28,985 4.13 Loose Offerings 33,931 4.84 Endowment 28,000 3.99 Interest Income 2,627 .38 Special Missions 15,901 2.27 $701,125 100.00% Actual Expenses Church Pastor & Staff $362,526 54.31% Other Administration 25,939 3.88 Congregational Care 1,053 .16 Buildings & Grounds 99,859 14.96 Missions 109,999 16.48 Worship 30,147 4.52 Christian Education 16,978 2.54 Church Life 8,248 1.24 Youth 12,731 1.91 $667,480 100.00% Net Income $ 33,645

Stewardship The stewardship sermon series for the fall of 2019 focused on “Words of the Wise” found mainly in Proverbs. The sermons were directed toward (1) Leftovers – our financial giving to God; (2) Intention-al Wealth – rich fool who hoarded his possessions and didn’t use his abundance to help others in need; and (3) Empty or Full – rich young ruler who wasn’t willing to give up his wealth to follow Jesus. Congregants giving stewardship testimonials for October were Peggy Buckner, Todd Liljestrand, and Russell and Margaret Headrick. The committee also wrote three stewardship articles for the church newsletter. The congregation responded joyfully to the call to pledge for the upcoming 2020 Budget Year. A total of 97 pledges were received in the amount of $589,509.

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Moderator: John Newell The Mission Committee has joyfully embraced the church’s vision statement that we are called to Grow, Share and Serve. Wonderful mission minded people work in specific areas to help us know where the fi-nancial resources of this church will be most impactful for His Kingdom. A total of $129,642 was used as noted below. In addition we continue to communicate opportunities to serve hands on in a variety of areas. Our congregation has been very generous to respond to special needs as they arise. Together we have made a difference in a way that brings glory to God. My thanks go out to the members for the committee as well as many others who help throughout the year. Organizations and individuals that we support include: $23,500 - Real Love Haiti’s vision is to invest in the lives of peo-

ple with the love, mercy, and power of Jesus. The core ministries are: Orphanage, Widows Mite, Real Love Academy, Real Love Medical Clinic and a Church plant.

$17,600 - Hebron USA works hand in hand with the Presbyterian Church and the indigenous peoples of Chiapas, Mexico, supporting the Las Manos de Christo medical clinic and Jan and Pablo Fe-liciano Cruz. Members of this congregation have been working at the clinic and supporting this ministry for more than 15 years.

$12,500 - Hospitality House is the only 24/7 homeless services agency in Northwestern NC.

$9,800 - Hunger and Health Coalition is a resource for individu-als and families within our community that are struggling to pro-vide themselves with basic needs such as food, prescribed medica-tions, and heat.

$9,000 - WeCan (Watauga Crisis Assistance Network) responds to crisis situations when no other funding source is available and pro-vides guidance, education, and advocates for those in crisis.

$7,800 - High Country Prison Ministry supports a chaplain at the Avery-Mitchell correction facility and works with Forgiven Ministry/One Day With God program to unite inmates with their children.

$7,600 - Foreign medical missionaries: Dr Leslie and Cindy Morgan in Bangladesh, Dr. Gary and Marlene Van Brocklin in South East Asia and Dr. Amanda McCoy at Tenwek Hospital in Kenya.

$6,864 - Food 4 Families provided necessary food deliveries to support 33 at risk families in Watauga county

$5,864 - The Disaster Relief Fund was created so we can respond in a timely way to natural disasters with financial support and the sending of teams of volunteers to help hands on.

$5,800 - Kari’s Home for women and Freedom Farm Ministries for men provide a way out of the bondage of alcohol and drug addiction through the Person and Power of Jesus Christ.

$5,000 - ASU Presbyterian Campus ministry has been active for 75 years.

$3,450 - Two Cents a Meal fights hunger locally and around the world.

$3,181 - We reach out to our Hispanic neighbors by providing a generous Thanksgiving Food distribu-tion and have built lasting relationships through ESL classes.

$3,025 - Water filter distribution has continued for several years in Chiapas and Haiti using funds that were initially collected in 2018. We work in partnership with Wine to Water for help in sourcing filters and training.

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$3,000 - RAM( Resort Area Ministries) provides support/assistance/education locally.

$2,000 - Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU) ASU campus ministry - Corey Keenan

$1,625 - Rise Against Hunger is an international hunger relief organization that distributes food and life-changing aid to the world’s most vulnerable. We partner with them to purchase the food stuffs and packed over 17000 meals that will be shipped overseas.

$1,276 - The Moravian Lovefeast love offering was used to support Travis’ Lunchbox/Casting Bread Ministries.

$380 - Operation Christmas Child sends millions of shoebox gifts to children around the world bless-ing them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

$250 - Wood Lot Ministry is a partnership with Grace Lutheran Church that collects, cuts, and splits donated trees and wood. The split wood is then given to people who can not otherwise afford firewood to heat their homes during the winter months

$100 - Back to School festival was created to lift the heavy financial burden that back-to-school shop-ping creates for local families. We contributed funds and volunteers.

We participated in the Advent Conspiracy whose purpose is characterized by its four founding principles: Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, Love All.

Gathering to Serve saw volunteers help at the Hunger Coalition, Wood lot, First Morning Out, Heart song singing for shut ins, Hospitality House, Travis’ Lunchbox/Casting bread food pantry, Back to School festi-val, and Pay it Forward assistance to international students at ASU.

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Moderator: Neville Chaney

In March of 2019, Dean Gropper (the Moderator of this committee) moved away. Neville Chaney moved into this role. Several personnel changes had to be considered and made in 2019:

Mary Beth Walker became our Interim Youth Director

Brandon Winbush became our Pianist for the traditional service

Lisa Combs was named our Handbell Choir Director

Erin Fowler became our Children’s Ministry Director

Rebecca Pitts became our First Morning Out Director

Amber Kanoy was named Financial Assistant for First Morning Out

We employed a new cleaning contractor.

The primary Employee Handbook was completed and distributed to our staff. However, our commit-tee discovered that many of the statements in the new handbook have traditionally been different in the structure of the FMO. Part of this year has been spent researching the way that this portion of First Presbyterian can incorporate the dictums of the handbook, but yet accommodate the special needs of the staff in a preschool environment.

The “Property” part of our year was especially challenging. The Session approved the engagement of a construction consultant (Steve Peklynk) to review the problems and the way that our building was constructed after we began to have issues with the paint, leaks, and the shakes falling off of our build-ing. Steve created a 90+ slide power point in which he pointed out that much of our building was not built to the plans that were created by the architect. And, he pointed out that our options were limited due to the statute of limitations.

In October, representatives from our committee met with staff from VPC Builders to tour the building and point out many of the flaws that we knew about and also the ones that Steve had pointed out in his presentation. VPC Builders has the flash drive with the slide show, blue print copies of the building and they are preparing a report for the church as to what the investment will be to bring the building up to where it should be. Our committee will be presenting these results to the Session for further dis-cussion and determine what our next steps might be.

As we move into 2020, the considerations of the FMO manual and FMO’s relationship with our com-mittee and the church needs to be addressed, and the ongoing property discussions will be dominating the first portion of the year.

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Moderator: Rob Robertson, Elder

Mission: To enhance worship which involves all generations through drama, liturgical dance,

singing, teaching, and preaching so the congregation of First Presbyterian Church experiences

the joy and wonder of God and gives God praise and adoration.

Accomplishments for 2019

Successful transition process for FPC pianist. Sylvia Rippy announced in March her retirement after

23 years with FPC as pianist. The Worship Committee formed a five-member committee. After three

months of work, the committee recommended the hiring of Brandon Winbush. He began helping lead

worship in August.

Combined Good Friday service. The first combined Rumple Pres/FPC Good Friday service attracted

61 worshippers. It began promptly at noon. Rumple Presbyterian’s Rev. Kathryn Beach led the service

in conjunction with Pastor Jeff Smith. Both churches’ choir sang together. The service ended in silence

by 12:30. Next year Rumple will play host.

Summer Church year two. For the second consecutive year one worship service was convened during

the summer months, specifically July 7 to August 11. The service started at 11 a.m. Attendance was

similar to the previous year, when the Summer Church service began at 8:45 a.m. The sentiment of the

committee is to continue this tradition in 2020.

Managing Greening of the Church. For the past several years preparations to decorate the FPC build-

ing for Advent has been led by a volunteer church member. That member asked to be relieved of those

responsibilities. The Worship Committee now leads this process. A guide was created to aid in manag-

ing the process. The Greening of the Church this year was pressed due to the late nature of the Thanks-

giving date, but was accomplished the evening of November 25.

Communion and flowers. Coincidentally, long-time volunteers who have setup and cleaned following

communion asked to retire from those duties. The Worship Committee is now scheduling its members

to wash and replace the elements. Session will prepare communion. Volunteers who have long supplied

live flowers for worship said they could no longer do so. Flowers will now be present when offered as

donations or in honorariums.

New hymnals. Thanks to a generous donation from a congregation member new Glory to God hymnals

were purchased to promote worship. Lisa Combs, using research from Bob Smith, purchased the hym-

nals in early fall. There were present in the pews for the October 20 combined worship service.

Beyond 2020. The Worship Committee was active in responding to the work of the Beyond 2020 initi-

ative. Members attended group meetings, including an all-FPC committee meeting in November to re-

view the goals assigned to all of the individual committees of the church.

17

New Worship storage. With the removal of the pipes for the now absent organ, space was created for

the storage of Worship materials. Frank Dooley renovated the space for both storage and to serve as a

music workstation. The room houses materials with which to Green the Church, as well as hymnals,

children’s costumes, and VBS materials.

Other activities:

Approved in January the use of a Saturday service if impending weather threatened to derail

Sunday Services.

Lenten Worship services included Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and a

combined service Easter Sunday.

The Nov. 17 service was a college-student centered event marking the 75th anniversary of the

campus ministry at Appalachian State University.

The annual Moravian Lovefeast attracted a capacity crowd, which included seats being placed

in the foyer for late arrivals. Weather was near perfect.

Scheduling worship assistants most every Sunday through the year.

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B����� 2020 V����� P���

Thank you to the members of the 2020 Coordinating team for their hard work and

dedication.

Coordinating Team: Garner Dewey, Kelvin Gryder, Heather Langdon, Todd

Liljestrand, Katherine Logan, John Newell and Gay Lynn Williams

First Presbyterian Church

131 Big Valley Street

Boone, NC 28607

828-264-3906

www.firstpresboone.org